I was talking to a friend today and I don't know how we got started on this, exactly, but we were talking about all the shite I've gone through in the past few years, and I said something like "well, that's life," and she said, "actually, that's not really life, you're kind of an exception". Which got us started talking about my childhood -- again, I'm not sure how the tangents were working there, but you know how it goes -- and that got me thinking that I'd like to share some of the stories of my childhood. But not today.

I was all excited to spend a whole night of television watching, but for some reason, all the channels are playing some show that looks like a ToastMasters meeting or something. This guy keeps talking, and a room full of people erupts into applause, and they're apparently CALLING this show like it's a football game, with play-by-plays, and White House correspondents, and all manner of ridiculousness. Ans all I really want is to see my House, or American Idol, or anything, really, but since I can't have that, I've spent the evening reading strangers' bloggity-blogs. It kind of made me sad that I hadn't gotten in on the blog action when I first started my Blogger account, or even before, because there are a lot of funny bloggers out there and I kind of wish I could play in their sandbox. It also made me want to write this. Blogs are stories, and I am a storyteller. I like to write, but even more so, I like to TELL my stories. I think of it as a craft, and I'm always trying to improve my storytelling skills. There's something I enjoy about the process of laying the groundwork, fleshing out the details, discussing the tangential remarks, and bringing it back around to a superb punch line or a sublime conclusion. And with that, I don't like to be rushed to the conclusion or to jump ahead of where I am. Aside is fine. Ahead is not fine. Yes, I'm persnickity, but these are my stories, and I want to tell them in my way. And I love that I have so many friends who will listen to my stories and enjoy, and even encourage me to tell more. And I want to encourage that in everyone. You have stories to tell, and to quote the wise SARK, "we NEED to hear your stories". So let's all share more stories.